Bo Tully is the sheriff of Blight County, Idaho, where law enforcement is usually pretty mundane: tracking down truants running away from school, picking up country boys who've had a few too many beers. But Tully gets a little more than the country norm when an ex-con calls with the startling news that there's a corpse draped across one of his fences.

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Bo Tully is the sheriff of Blight County, Idaho, where law enforcement is usually pretty mundane: tracking down truants running away from school, picking up country boys who've had a few too many beers. But Tully gets a little more than the country norm when an ex-con calls with the startling news that there's a corpse draped across one of his fences. Tully needed a birthday present for his Pap (the retired sheriff) anyway, so the two of them head out to investigate the murder. In a tone that's one minute wise-cracking and the next...well, still wise-cracking...Tully and Pap use their wiles to figure out what's happening in this little and not-so-dull town.

For anyone who has ever read McManus' previous books of delightful essays or his shaggy dog stories you will be delighted and for mystery readers you should be happy also, plot is well done, characters are great, and pace is perfect. am really looking forward to many more of this series.

The Blight Way is that rare delight, a humorous mystery that is both laugh-out-loud funny and at the same time, a fair whodunnit. The narrator is absolutely superb at characterizing each and every role -- a genuine talent whom I hope we will hear much more from. Highly recommended.

I've been a fan of Patrick McManus for years, I enjoy his brand of humor. But I could only read about 3 chapters of any of his books of short stories before having to quit from the headache the laughing gave me.
What a surprise to listen to "The Blight Way"! It has the same humor, but woven into a genuine storyline that, unlike the discount tent, actually holds water. We listened to it on a trip in the car and my wife liked it as well.

As a fan of McManus' humor, I found a great deal of fun in this tale, even though it was so different than the things he usually writes. There was plenty to chuckle at, some long-prepared gags, and still a fun mystery to be solved that was not at all spoiled for the occasional bits of lightheartedness. I really had a great time with it.

The caracters in this book are just that..characters, and I hated to see the book end. I loved the way this author handled profanity, humorously with out actually using it.
Some books have way to may four letter words for my taste. When this book was over, I hurried to audible to see if there were any more books by this author about these folks and was very disapointed not to find any.

We enjoyed this book as much as we have any of McManus'. It presents a new theme, one which we hope to hear more of in the future. McManus is one of our favorite humorists, and this book kept us riveted on one of our mountain trips.

While the descriptions of hokey, pokey rural life were a little too close to a sore nerve for my taste, I still enjoyed this audiobook very much. I would give this one a 3.5 out of 5.

One thing I especially enjoyed was the skillful narration. There was a disctinctly different voice for each character. I don't know how the narrator managed such deft changes of pitch, timbre and cadence! This masterful narration brought the characters to life for me.

The story line was nicely constructed as well, revealing the plot in careful layers.

I would very possibly read another book by this author again. I would enjoy seeing how he grows with his craft.

Whether for good or ill, if you are looking for something like the short, humorous stories that have characterized Pat McManus for over 20 years, this is not it. Other reviewers mention some funny parts, but they weren't in the story that I listened to. If you want to hear a story by a beloved author who is trying to express himself in a different genre, and that happens to be set in Northern Idaho, then this might be your book. The characters are good and I can hear a lot of Pat in the character of "Pap" Tully, father of the hero of the story, Sheriff Bo Tully. But none of the familiar McManus characters such as "Retch" Sweeney or "Rancid" Crabtree make so much as a guest appearance. If you are looking for a good detective story, this probably isn't up to the standards of Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle, but if you just want a good yarn with some likable folks, then it's enjoyable listening. The narrator did an excellent job voicing the characters.

I've read lots of McManus' humorous works and always enjoyed them. I was curious to see how he would do with a mystery novel.

He did ok. The biggest criticism I have is that I thought you could see the structure of the plot a little too obviously. But it's good and workmanlike, and kept my interest.

As others have said, the narrator really makes this book. His style is laconic and a bit understated, and it really works well. It took me a little bit to get used to it, but I was a big fan after a couple of chapters.

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